Tuesday, September 8th 2020
Apple is Quickly Expanding its Data Centers
Thanks to the latest reportings from DigiTimes, we have obtained information that Apple has been working on expanding its data centers. According to Taiwan's server upstream supply chain, Apple has increased orders for its data centers, which have been growing starting from the second quarter of 2020. For the full year 2020, the orders are expected to be doubled, and the growth in purchasing is going to continue well into 2021. This purchasing decision from Apple comes after strong demand for its services like iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV, App Store, etc., all of which have millions of users. Being that Apple is expanding its data centers, that must represent a sign that Apple's user base is continuing to grow strongly.
Source:
DigiTimes
27 Comments on Apple is Quickly Expanding its Data Centers
Can't help but wonder about the kind of hardware/software combination running in those datacenters... Linux? Unix? Some Apple internal OS based on MacOS? x86 or some other thing?
It would be really funny if it runs Windows Server, though :roll:
Come on ...
As for hardware, no clue. If they want to stick with their Apple Arcade style games and go Nintendo style (family/all ages games), probably their own. They could go the Stadia route with Linux and AMD hardware.. but I don’t really see Apple selling you the next Assassin’s Creed or the usual triple AAA games.
Do you have a better idea?
Edit:
www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2020/08/apple-patent-surfaces-in-europe-covering-interactive-service-for-cloud-rendering-gaming-in-5g-systems.html
Probably just HPE or Dell.
Future TPU news article: In a Press Release Apple announced today that their data centers will run on their new "Messiah" processors with their roadmap showing the "Second Coming" processor to be next, followed by the "King Sh*t of F*ck Mountain" processor. This processor was originally to be called the "Bow and scrap before thy might" processor, but this was later changed due to, albeit minimal, backlash from Apple fans on social media. Leaked documents indicate that other titles for the processor included "Resistance is futile against the unrelenting hive-mind of our Fanboy army" and "Assimilation is Destined", though Apple has explicitly stated that these names are definitely NOT off the table for use in the future.
Alongside that, other network-based services (like Netflix) are going to use whatever extra bandwidth is gained due to these improvements, so you are again running into the need of having an above-average Internet service.
And frankly, how many ISPs in the world can give you that? Definitely not the ones that implement data caps, nor the ones that suffer network congestion.It makes sense as a long-term strategy, though. Not for the purpose of selling an Xserve-like product but for themselves to rely even less on third-parties.
Its latency and jitter:
Its one thing if you can have constant latency. 30ms to 100ms TV screens exist, and while its kind of terrible playing video games on them, at least its a consistent level of lag. For games like Guitar Hero, your brain adjusts pretty well to the timing, even on very laggy TVs.
But what's demonstrated in that test video isn't just latency: but jitter that's common to many internet connections. The latency may be 30ms (very good for the internet) for one button push, but then a few seconds later the latency becomes 70ms or 100ms. Its not constant, because the internet was not designed to give you a consistent latency packet-to-packet.
I think they're ready to burn a looooooot of money for no benefit there. It won't fly.
its a bit like Microsoft and gaming. Or... a block of cheese and a stapler. The two don't relate.
Walled gardens like that are by default on the shitlist. I won't ever buy a single app in that store. As for their success... in the land of the blind applies here. They make money, yes.
Same goes for cloud gaming... now combine Apple and cloud gaming, and all I can say is, napalm that asap.
Good for company != good for gaming, in many cases.
Love or hate Apple, they do know how to attract talent because their platform is so profitable. Because people just throw money at them, whatever the product. In the end though, I doubt it will have any impact in the gaming world we know.What do you mean they don't relate? Pretty much all games run on Windows, the vast majority use DirectX. Xbox Live has about as many monthly active users as Steam. They're about to launch their 4th console generation. I'd say the two are pretty well related. It hasn't been a perfect relationship, and PC was neglected for a long time. But it seems like they're putting some effort on it these days.
Sony otoh adds creativity and innovation to the market.
But I see it differently, you can contribute to gaming with more than games. To me, Valve's greatest contribution to gaming was Steam, not their games. Epic's greatest contribution is by far the Unreal Engine. But I undertand your point now.
Because this is what you get when Microsoft gets creative:
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More seriously: Microsoft's game department is pretty good. Rare games have a lot of games in the style that I like personally (Killer Instinct, Battletoads remake). Apparently Sea of Thieves but I'm not into that. The "Age of Empires" series also is pretty good from a strategy perspective. Microsoft Flight Sim is an old-hat, but it does the job too.